Entrepreneurship and technology ecosystems have been growing in Latin America, and being one of the regions that represents a large proportion of the world’s agricultural and fisheries production, investment and growth in food technology has been taking shape, so here are 10 foodtech startups that have emerged in LATAM:
- Agrosafety – Brasil
The Brazilian company performs analysis in the manufacture, storage and processing of food for quality control. This helps ensure that products of animal and vegetable origin comply with food safety standards, and has grown to such an extent that it has complied with European, Japanese, and Brazilian legislation.
- Manzana Verde – Perú
We have already seen a lot of food delivery startups. However, Manzana Verde brings a different concept to the industry: healthy food delivery. They have a platform that allows the user’s data to be provided and suggests the best meal plan, in addition to preparing the meals and delivering them to your door. The founders thought of people who want to eat healthy but do not have enough time, organizing everything so that the user only receives the food. From Peru, it has grown and reached Mexico and Colombia.
The Startup is focused on discovering and developing products that can replace antibiotics and reduce diseases in animals. This is due to the fact that the use of antibiotics in the livestock industry has caused health crises, causing bacteria that are responsible for 800 thousand deaths of people per year. Thus, BeeTechnology has developed accessible treatments that allow sustaining human and animal health. They have products to treat diseases in bees, chickens and cows.
After 7 years since its inception, Rappi has become one of the largest delivery companies in Latin America. Today, it reaches more than 200 cities and has more than 8,000 employees, being the first super-app in the region, changing the dynamics of commerce. Today, in addition to being a food delivery service, it is possible to buy insurance, electronics and many other items.
It is a home food delivery platform. Although these services have grown in the region, Eats for you adds a different concept, as they are looking for families who like cooking and, in addition, who are looking for an extra or main income. This, to bring their dishes to people who want homemade food for lunch, with a fair price. Thus, they promote income generation by offering real food to people who use the delivery service.
With climate change, new food options have arrived in order to have an alternative that does not generate a bad impact on the environment. With this, entrepreneurs such as Totolines have emerged, seeking to make the consumption of insects attractive, presenting their product with an alternative protein based on crickets and grasshoppers: they produce totopos with insect flour. Besides being another consumption alternative, they have 5 times more protein than traditional totopos. They bring insects raised from farms in Mexico, and respecting their natural cycle, they are harvested from June to December. They are currently found in large supermarket chains in the country.
In this line of alternative proteins, this StartUp creates foods from plants, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, oils and legumes. Its founders saw the need for a healthier diet and plant-based products that taste good. Thus, they created dairy foods to bring to market, such as mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and milk.
It is a brand of plant-based food technology, which also seeks to promote a lifestyle that is free of animal products. The company is aware of the importance of having food that tastes good, is healthy and takes care of the planet at the same time, so they seek to bring a delicious and sustainable alternative over time. In their products, there are meatballs, sausages, tuna, chicken, and more “meat” products.
It is a Foodtech company with the goal of accelerating the world’s healthy and sustainable transition using technology. In addition to selling food for daily consumption, they have a platform called Chakara, which stores all the information of the plants and, with biotechnology and machine learning, quantifies the data received and generates even more combinations of plants and food to have a healthier and sustainable food. It seeks to leave aside ultra-processed ingredients or foods and have a clean, circular product, around the community, conscious, certified and with better benefits than other products.
- Pink Farms – Brasil
It is the largest urban vertical farm in Latin America. It started as vegetable production in urban areas, without using pesticides and using 95% less water than in the field, the company uses technology to increase its production and supply large cities in the country. They have special lights to simulate sunlight, which accelerates the photosynthesis process and also allows a higher production of products.